Deborah Vacik:  

I was quiet during high school. I worked as an aid in the library while I was at Fargo North High School. After graduating from North in 1976, I joined the Army as a private and was on active duty for almost 6 years. I was a Veterinary Technician working with peoples’ pets and military working dogs. I spent three and a half years at a duty station in Germany and I visited many places in Europe. I also started taking college classes while I was in the army. After my initial active military service, I moved to Denver, Colorado, and enrolled at the University of Colorado-Denver. I also joined the Colorado Army National Guard. A few years later, the National Guard sent me through officer candidate school and commissioned me as a second lieutenant. In college, I took many pre-med and sciences classes, though I finally graduated in 1990 with a BFA – Photography. After graduation, I was a desktop publisher in Denver for many years. In my late thirties, I took a hard look at my life. I found, I was still interested in the medical field though my interests were alternative more than conventional. I changed my focus to alternative healing. After dusting off my science knowledge with some prerequisite classes, I moved to Arizona to attend the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (SCNM). I also continued my military service by joining the Arizona Army National Guard. SCNM is one of five 4-year post-graduate Naturopathic schools in the United States. These schools parall...Expand for more